NCJ Number
203879
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 41 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2004 Pages: 82-105
Date Published
February 2004
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed the role of Mexican American gang members in drug sales, and the relationship between using drugs and selling drugs in South Texas.
Abstract
Most previous studies on gangs and the drug trade have found that while drug selling is common among gang members, it is not necessarily a primary activity of the gang. Rather, selling drugs emerges as a consequence of the drug using behavior of one or more gang members. One gap in the research is that there has been no examination of the gang’s participation in the drug market in relation to other players in the drug market. This study utilized qualitative methods to analyze the various roles that gang members play in drug sales, the structure and the function of the gangs, and their relationship to other drug sellers and users, particularly those in adult prison gangs. Multiple qualitative methods including ethnographic field observations, focus groups, and life history/intensive interviews were conducted with 160 male gang members from a large Southwestern city. The data were combined into an electronic qualitative database and contextualized for themes and commonalities. The results indicate a four-part typology based on the two dimensions of gang type and gang member: Homeboys, Hustlers, Slangers, and Ballers. Each typology is explained in turn and corresponds not only to the individual actions of the drug selling gang member, but to the structure and function of the gang as a whole. The findings also indicate that gang members’ involvement in selling and dealing drugs is primarily influenced by contact with adult criminals within the gang members’ social network. Other important findings reveal that many gang members are not profit-oriented dealers, but are drug users themselves and that gangs commonly extend protection to gang member dealers. This analysis suggests that to be effective in the fight against drugs, police, judges, and district attorneys need to understand the relationship between the use of illicit drugs by young people and the diverse operative roles they may play in the drug market. Limitations of the study include problems of generalizing qualitative data to larger populations. Figure, notes, references